Vacation
by DarthRushy
Summary: During a vacation in the jungle, Kopa meets a spectacular lioness cub named Mwizi and becomes the centerpoint of an evil conspiracy to take over the Pridelands. It's up to Vitani to save her love, aided by an unlikely group of "heroes" whilst the pride must defend their home without giving away the fact that they're defending their home.
1. Prologue

Kopa opened his eyes. He was still tired, as he had fallen asleep very late due to him and Vitani going to their secret place and losing track of time. By the time they realized they had to go back, it was nearly dark.  
"Morning, Kopa. Nice to see you awake." said Nala who walked into the den. It was still dark outside and everyone were asleep.  
"Mooooom, you know I don't like being waken up!" complained Kopa.  
"And I'd gladly let you sleep, but today's the day you and Vitani are going to the jungle, remember?"  
_Now_ Kopa woke up. "Am I late?! Is she gone already?!" asked Kopa, alarmed.  
Nala chuckled. "No, you're not late, I woke you up just in time. Zira's going to wake up Vitani in just a few minutes too, I think and then Simba will take you both to the jungle."  
Kopa couldn't help the goofy grin on his face.  
A few days ago, he and Vitani came up with a brilliant idea to have a vacation in the jungle(or a very early honeymoon as Kopa's maturing thoughts called it) and he'd specifically asked Timon, Pumbaa and Simba whether or not it'd be safe or even allowed. It took some coaxing, but the king ultimately relented.

* * *

Kopa and Simba were waiting outside when Vitani walked out of the den, the wind blowing at her tuft of hair.  
Some would've called that tuft of hers boy-like and ugly. Kopa just found it cute.  
"Hey Kopa! Hey King Simba!" yelled Vitani and ran down towards the two of them.  
Kopa and Vitani climbed onto Simba's back. Kopa held onto Simba. Vitani held onto Kopa.  
Simba started to run so fast that the two cubs nearly fell off, but they managed to keep their balance.  
Vitani especially enjoyed the fact that she had a perfectly good reason to rest her head on Kopa, not to mention hugging him for the whole journey.  
"Hey dad? How long was the trip again?" asked Kopa, curious.  
"Not too long, only about half a day. Running through the desert makes you lose track of time though."  
The cubs inevitably fell asleep soon.

* * *

When Kopa woke up again, he was lying on solid ground. Vitani was softly snoring next to him. Simba was standing over him.  
"I'm gonna go now. You two have fun. I'll be back in three days. Timon and Pumbaa are not far from here, but I thought it'd be best for you two to be on your own. If anything happens, go to them, okay?"  
Kopa nodded happily and Simba took off again. The young cub didn't feel tired anymore and decided to look around for a little bit whilst Vitani was still asleep.


	2. Water

Kopa easily found Timon and Pumbaa bickering nearby, but decided not to bother them and returned to the clearing where Vitani was just waking up.  
"Hey." said Kopa.  
"Hey!" replied Vitani more enthusiastically. "So, we going to the waterfalls like you said?"  
"Hell yeah."  
They raced each other to the waterfalls. Being slimmer and more nimble, Vitani easily won the race, making Kopa grumpy.  
"That's not fair! I'M the King, you hear me, Tani?!" Vitani couldn't help giggling as Kopa threw his head back and marched away. "Hey King, ready or not, here I come!"  
With those words Vitani jumped and tackled Kopa into the water. For a few seconds, everything was a blur of blue and yellow and then Vitani found herself lying on the grass... without Kopa.

* * *

Kopa had absolutely no idea what was happening except that he shouldn't breathe. The moment Vitani pushed him into the water, it was as if a maelstrom had sucked him up and was dragging him somewhere. He writhed and slashed and clawed, but nothing released the hold. However, just before Kopa could drown, he found himself in darkness... and with air to breath. For the next minute, all he did was cough and wheeze and try to get an understanding of his surroundings. From all the mud and dirt and water and dark, Kopa quickly realized he was in some kind of underwater cave.  
_I'm gonna have Dad crush this whole place when he gets back. I mean, what was that?!_  
He clawed around the muddy hole, hoping to simply unbury himself, but all he succeeded in was getting more water in and less air out.  
Already the existing air was getting thin for the cub to breathe.

* * *

Before the cub's headache worsened out of thin air, another cub appeared out of nowhere, splashing and coughing. Kopa assumed it was Vitani and tried to help her. The disoriented cub thought she was being attacked and slashed at Kopa's face.  
"Ow! What was that for?!" yelled Kopa.  
"Who are you?! WHY AM I HERE?!" shouted the crazed cub.  
"I'm Kopa and I don't know and would you please stop shouting before we suffocate!" snarled the Prince.  
The other cub paused. "You're the Prince of the Pridelands?"  
"Yeah. And you?"  
"I'm Mwizi." said the lioness cub.  
Kopa grinned, even though Mwizi couldn't possibly see it in the dark, damp hole.  
"Mewinzi-Mwinzi-Mzizgi..."  
"Mwi. Zi."  
"Right."  
Mwizi fell in thought. "How did you get stuck in here?"  
Kopa was quick to reply: "I was playing around when the water just sucked me down here."  
The other cub seemed to barely listen: "Yeah, right..."  
"What are you doing?" asked Kopa."  
"Thinking."  
"About what?"  
"On how we get out of here! Do you always ask so many questions?"  
"Yep. But now I have to think."

* * *

**Well, guys(or whoever is reading this), I have finally done Chapter 2, I like it much more than Chapter 1.  
Mwizi means "thief" in Swahili, by the way. And no, Mwizi herself is not a thief, at least not in the literal sense. I'm still not sure whether or not she's going to be a villain or not.  
Also hooray for her being my first Lion King OC ever! As you may or may not guess, this is my first Lion King fanfic.  
**


	3. Timon & Pumbaa

Mwizi yelped as a slimy creature of some sort came out of nowhere and latched onto her like a leech. Kopa clawed onto it and bit it until he felt the liquid gushing out of it's wound. The creature screeched and vanished.  
"Are you okay?!" gasped Kopa.  
"It hurts alot." said Mwizi weakly.  
_Could it be poison?_ wondered Kopa. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small splash. He snarled, but stopped when he heard a scream and a lot of babbling.  
"Please don't eat me, I don't have a lot of calories cause I only eat bugs which means I'm probably not good for your health whatsoever and you carnivores have to keep up strength and...!"  
"Timon?"  
"Kopa? That you?" asked the meerkat.  
"Yeah!"  
"Well, what're ya doing down here?! Aren't you supposed to be with your girlfriend or something?!"  
"Girlfriend?" popped in Mwizi.  
"And who's that?!" demanded Timon. "Say, what's goin' on here?! Who's the cub?"  
"Her name's Mwizi! She got bitten by that slimy monster!"  
"Um, kiddo, I'm pretty sure monsters don't live in the bottom of the swimming pool." said Timon, sarcastically. "And what've you done to my Pumbaa-free stash?!"  
"Timon, we need to get out!"  
Timon groaned. "Oh fine, follow me."  
The meerkat splashed back into the water. With minor difficulty, Kopa helped Mwizi onto his back and jumped in as well. He vaguely felt the meerkat's movements through the ripples in the pond and soon, he saw blinding light accompanied by fresh, cool air. Thanks to his father's training, Kopa was able to easily get ashore and lay Mwizi down. The poor lioness cub fainted immediately.  
"PUMBAA! MEDICAL HELP OVER HERE!" yelled Timon into the jungle.  
"I'M COMING, TIMON!" roared the warthog in response and appeared soon.  
Kopa turned back to Mwizi and got his first good look at her: she was a reddish-brown color(like Scar) and also had a hairtuft, but a much smaller one than Vitani and it was peculiarly blond. She had an Outlander nose. Mwizi was about the same size as Mheetu and was very attractive and soft-looking.

* * *

Kopa rolled Mwizi around to have a better look at the wound. Fortunately, it wasn't poisoned, but bled, thus explaining her pain. With Timon's help, he was able to wrap some leaves around it.  
"Phew! There! All done!" said Timon, wiping sweat from his forehead.  
"Maybe we should tell Simba that there are lions in the jungle?" said Pumbaa. "He might give us back the Grub Spot if Kopa backs us up!"  
Suddenly, Timon froze. "Hey wait a second? What if we tell Simba that there are lions in the jungle?"  
"Uhhh..."  
"He might even give us back the Grub Spot if Kopa backs us up! What do you think, Kopa?"  
Kopa was gone.  
"Kopa? KOPA?!" yelled Timon and then threw his hands down in frustration. "I can't believe it! He's disappeared again! I swear, that cub has invisibility powers! And what're we supposed to do with this?" He motioned towards Mwizi.


	4. This Party Is Over

Fortunately, Kopa soon returned with a bundle of dry leaves and branches.  
"Oh, there you are! Thanks for running off like that!" complained Timon.  
"I had to get Mwizi something to lie on, she just had a near-death experience!" protested Kopa and dragged the unconscious lioness onto the pile of leaves.  
"Right, so now that that's settled, we have more important things to do. Come on Pumbaa, our Grub Spot awaits us!"  
Timon jumped onto Pumbaa's back and rode away. Kopa heard their fading voices singing their Hakuna Matata song.  
_She might need air! I better get one of those palm leaves._  
For the next several hours, Kopa busied himself with getting Mwizi air to breathe, splashed some water on her so she wouldn't heat up yet try to keep the sunlight on her... it was a load of work, but an obsessed lion can do an unnaturally large amount done in an unnaturally short amount of time.

* * *

When Mwizi finally awoke, she found herself on a comfortable bed, her wounds treated and the Prince of the Pridelands acting like a butler.  
"Kopa? What happened?" she mumbled as she got up. Kopa helped her.  
"We got out of the water, but you were hurt so me and my friends helped you." he said. "Thanks."  
"It's the least I can do."  
"Kopa?" asked Mwizi. "Yeah?"  
"Could you take me to where I live? I'm not really allowed to be here so I was thinking that if the Prince of Pridelands was with me, I'd probably get a lot more permission. I mean, if the jungle's safe for the Prince, it's gotta be safe for me, right?"  
Kopa caught onto her thinking immediately.  
"Right! But... weren't we just attacked by a sea monster?"  
Mwizi giggled. "Well, we can just forget that ever happened and try to stay away from the sea. Lions aren't made for seas, anyway."  
"Deal. So where is your pride?"  
"We lived at the Hills."  
"The Hills?! But there's nothing there!  
Mwizi's face fell and Kopa felt very terrible. "I'm sorry, I, uh..."  
"No you're right. There is nothing there, that's why I'm here. I don't know why our king insists on staying there and my mom isn't telling me either so..."  
Kopa decided to brighten her up a bit. "I'll take you back there and tell them it's okay to come here."  
Mwizi grinned. "That'd be brilliant!"

* * *

After Kopa had managed to kill an anonymous warthog for them to eat, Mwizi and him felt strong enough to take on the 1-day journey to the Hills. Unfortunately, it was too late by then(a factor that neither had predicted and so they went to sleep. Mwizi snuggled closer to Kopa and the lion cub was happy to share. Kopa began nuzzling her and she seemed to enjoy the attention.

ENTER VITANI.


	5. Genetics

Just as Mwizi moved in to lick Kopa's muzzle, a light tan-colored cannonball hit them both, sending them both to the ground, reeling and disoriented. Having a superior build, Kopa recovered from the hit faster and noticed a v_ery_, _very_, **very** pissed off Vitani glaring at them. Kopa had a guilty look on him.

In the aftermath of the whole underwater incident, he'd forgotten about Vitani entirely. He was surprised at the knowledge. Usually, the problem was keeping the pretty cub out of his head.  
"Uh... hey, 'Tani?" fake-grinned Kopa quietly. He really hoped Vitani wasn't going to suffer a breakdown.  
Vitani was harsh: "I am going to skin you like a zebra when we get back to Pride Rock! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I searched through the whole jungle for help and couldn't find anybody to drag you out! I jumped into the pool not once, not twice, but SEVEN times to find you! And FINALLY I found Timon and Pumbaa talking about a new girlfriend you have!"  
_  
Oh boy_. thought Kopa. _I'm in trouble. Real. Double. Trouble._  
Kopa tried his best to explain: "I helped her out of the pond. That thing that grabbed me grabbed her too."  
Vitani did not falter: "And so you decided to make out with her to even the score?!"

"Perhaps you should be more protective over who you date!" snarled Mwizi. "If it hadn't been for you driving him crazy, he probably would never have gone jumping into that pool with no sense!"  
Vitani's voice began to reach ultrasound. "Excuse me?! How did YOU get sucked into that thing?!"  
Mwizi had a quick response: "I was attacked by an adder! I didn't really have much choice!"

Kopa jumped between Mwizi and Vitani. "Tani, it was an accident, I swear!"  
"An accident? Like the time your own flesh and blood let hyenas into the Pridelands? Maybe you're a bit more like him than you think!"  
Kopa's face darkened: "I am not Scar."  
"He's a part of you." spat Vitani and ran off in tears.

* * *

If there's one thing that Kopa did inherit from his grand-uncle, it was his intelligence. He knew that Vitani hadn't said those words to him without any reason. He felt really... guilty.  
Kopa was about to go after him when Mwizi grabbed his tail. In a very attractive way.

"Kopa, it's okay. She overreacted, I understand. Let her run it off."  
Kopa relaxed and sat down. "I... I guess. I still feel kinda guilty."

"I know. You'll feel better. Come on!"  
Unfortunately, even the greatest intelligence can be undermined.

* * *

Vitani stormed off to the border between the desert and the jungle and wished that she could leave the whole place behind. The cool, sweet oasis now felt ugly and wet. She wished to be back at the Pridelands with his idiotic brother and scheming mother and let the desert separate her from Kopa.  
_How could he?_ she asked herself. And she knew the answer.  
_It's Mwizi. It's that damn cub. I just know it!_

Vitani walked back and forth the border, thinking. Had she been able to see herself, she would've found the comparison with her mother frightening. But right now she had no time for fear.  
Now was the time for scheming.

* * *

**Author's Notes: In order to fit the story better, Vitani and Nuka are not Scar's children anymore... wait, were they even his children in the movie? Oh yeah, it wasn't really explained. So they're not his kids, okay?  
**


	6. Storm

Tojo II stumbled around in the grass. He was still healing from his latest injury(a painful trip during a race with the others) and thus it was rather hard for him to walk. He hated every last minute of it. Why did he always have to be the clumsy one? It seemed that whenever Tojo did something right, life would balance it by sending in another mistake, another failure, etc.

The young cub decided to wander off to sulk on his own without anyone telling him how clumsy he is and walked down the river for awhile. Soon enough, he came across a very large nest with a few eggs in it. The nest looked _juuust_ large enough for him to use as a raft. That would be awesome!

Unfortunately, three fragile eggs were lying in the nest, waiting for their time.  
Temptation boiled in Tojo. Sure, the cub did care for the birds, perhaps more than others, but he was still a cub and he was tempted.

He decided to hide the eggs somewhere where they wouldn't be hurt whilst he sailed on the river. He took the eggs, one by one and hid them behind a bush, after which he set the "raft" to the river and jumped right in.

_THIS IS AWESOME!_ thought Tojo as he flew over waves. "WOO-HOO!" he yelled in enjoyment. Tojo was so into what he was doing that he failed to notice the waterfall until it was too late. By the time he did notice, he was only a few meters away. His eyes widened and he had barely enough time to jump off to a nearby cliff, clawing onto it as the powerful waves threatened to drag him back down into the water.

With strength that can only come from those who are in a near-death situation, Tojo crawled his way out of the waterfall and onto the rocks and fell down, gasping for air. Tojo made a mental note to never, ever, ever go near a river ever again.

He'd entirely forgotten about the eggs, though.

* * *

Kopa felt dizzy as Mwizi led him to... somewhere. He didn't know and he didn't have enough brain capacity left to care. He was walking in a tunnel of blur with only the lioness cub still visible. He was tired and was about to fall down, too.  
"Come on, silly, it's only a bit further." said Mwizi. The voice echoed in Kopa's head and he forced himself to walk. Finally, right before Kopa would've fainted anyway, Mwizi stopped.

"Do you think we should stay here for tonight, Kopa?"  
_"Do you think we should stay here for tonight, Kopa?"_  
Kopa mumbled something agreeable and rested himself on... sand? He had a hard time telling.

"Mwizi... what're you doing?" he asked.  
"Shhh!" said the cub. "Close your eyes."  
Kopa obeyed immediately and felt Mwizi kiss him. The sensation was enough to restore Kopa's energy and his eyes sprang open to find Mwizi's eyes a few centimeters. The eyes were a deep shade of red. They were very beautiful in a bizarre, hypnotising way.

Kopa forced himself to pull back and look around. The two weren't definitely in the oasis anymore. Everywhere the eye could see, there was sand, dirt and termites.  
"Why are we here?" he asked.  
"It's private." replied Mwizi. "Wanna play Hide and Seek?"  
Had Kopa been asked yesterday, he would've definitely replied no to playing in this horrible place. But Mwizi was _doing_ something to him. Just the way she walked was incredibly lovely and he couldn't help but say yes.  
"Cool." grinned Mwizi and ran off.

Kopa blinked and forced himself to stand. He stumbled a bit, but regained his footing.  
Mwizi was nowhere to be seen.  
_Where is she? Where is she?!_ began Kopa thinking.  
He looked around, but saw nothing so he decided to take a closer look to those termite castles. Perhaps she'd hid herself there?

The prince was not repulsed by the disgusting animals who lived in the mounds nor did he care about the painful bites that they caused.  
Kopa was obsessed. He didn't care for himself anymore.

* * *

It was dark when Vitani woke up. Her logic told her that she'd only been asleep for a few hours. The oasis was at peace. Vitani looked up towards the sky, but it was clouded.  
_No stars._  
Even though Kopa couldn't possibly control the weather, Vitani believed for some reason that if he'd be around, the clouds wouldn't be there. And now Vitani also realised why she woke up. Water was dropping out of the sky. It was beginning to rain.

The young, smart lioness did the first sensible thing, looking for Timon and Pumbaa. She didn't know where they slept, but from their personalities, presumed that it was someplace safe from rain.

By the time she found them, she was completely wet, exhausted, angry and just tired. When she saw the iconic duo, she was defeated.  
The two did _not_ sleep safe from rain. Or more precisely, Pumbaa didn't. Pumbaa slept purely in the rain. Timon slept semi-under Pumbaa. Both were snoring loudly.  
Vitani snarled at no one in particular and hid under a leaf. She felt hot tears flowing down her face, a direct result of everything she'd been through during the day.  
**And it was only the first day.**  
This vacation sucked. Kopa was probably in some safe cave with that god-awful lioness(whom she planned to cause painful injuries to) and if that was so, well then she couldn't wait to tell Simba.  
_Hang on a minute. Kopa knew that Simba would come after us and would likely notice the rift between us. Just a few days ago, he'd been scared to bits when he thought Simba was mad that we'd tricked Zazu into going to the Elephant Graveyard again. Why would he risk that? It's not in him. Something else must be going on._  
The tears stopped. The rain stopped. And Vitani slept.


	7. Cynical

Vitani woke up cold and shivering, but it didn't matter. Zira had taught her to endure a lot more than that. She growled a little, remembering her thoughts the previous night, got up and decided to go find some bugs to eat.  
Eating insects was one of the many peculiarities of Simba and Kopa. She'd learned to tolerate them as well since she was way too young to hunt, especially in a jungle and she did want to spend time alone with Kopa. After getting as full as one might get from bugs, she had only one thing to do.

Find Kopa and break whatever hold Mwizi had over him.

Easier said than done. Vitani's first problem was finding Kopa. She sniffed the winds, but did not detect Kopa's scent.  
_They were here only yesterday... better to find their tracks._  
Unfortunately, the rain last night had deteriorated the pawprints, making them hard to read even for Vitani, who had been trained by her stern mother all her life.

Despite this setback, she slowly made her way through the thick jungle and emerged unexpectedly to the Outlands at which point the pawprints disappeared entirely. The Outlands were enormous and threatening, but the young cub sucked it up and went straight in.

* * *

Regaining consciousness, Tojo crawled away from the rocks and back to solid ground when he heard a faint squeaking. He turned around to see that the eggs on the other side of the river had hatched and were screaming for their mother.  
_Oh, heck..._  
With little choice, Tojo jumped straight back into the water to try to cross it as quickly as possible.

However, being the clumsy lion he was, he failed and started to sail towards the waterfall uncontrollably. Again.  
"HELP! HEEEEELP!" he screamed, but was cut off by the water in his mouth. He gurgled and couldn't even see anymore as the liquid splashed into his eyes.

He fell.

Gravity overtook Tojo(who was heavier because of the extra water). He hit the rock wall several times before finally landing in the water harshly, losing consciousness entirely.

* * *

Kopa turned his head, hearing faint screaming in the background, but he ignored it entirely after hearing it was male.

The young prince looked terrible. He hadn't eaten for a long time, he was dusty and dirty all over, his tuft was messed up and his eyes were bloodshot.  
_Where is she?_ _Where is she?_  
He had no idea how long it was before Mwizi disappeared. Was it a day or a week?

Kopa was tired and aching all over, but he didn't care in the slightest bit. He barely even remembered his own name.  
_Where is she?_  
He stumbled around, having made his way back to the termites' mound. Maybe she came back.

No she didn't. Suddenly, he heard yelling again, _female_.

He ran blindly towards the sound and crashed straight into his girlfriend. Due to the variance in their conditions, Kopa was knocked out entirely whilst Vitani only suffered a bruise. She gasped when she saw Kopa.  
_What the hell did that monster do to him?!_  
If there was any previous doubt about Mwizi's intentions, it was gone now.  
"Kopa! Kopa, get up!"  
The poor lion cub was too overwhelmed with sleep to hear her. Vitani tried to wake him with her front paws.  
"Come on, Kopa, we gotta go!" she said and nuzzled him.

Having no other choice and sincerely hoping that Mwizi was gone for good, she took Kopa by his scruff and started dragging him towards the jungle, slowly but surely.

* * *

"Oh, what is this, a jungle or Grand Central of Africa?!" roared Timon in utter frustration. First Simba, then Nala, then Kopa, then Vitani, then Mwizi and now _another_ lion cub.  
"Come now, Timon, we gotta help the poor fellow." said Pumbaa, helpful as usual. The warthog dragged Tojo to shade and Timon helped him expel the water in his throat.  
"Come on, come on, whoever you are, get it all out." he advised and groaning when all the water was splashed directly onto him.

"Carnivores, ugh." he muttered under his teeth and left Tojo to Pumbaa's care whilst babbling to himself. He wasn't planning on adopting another cub. Who do these lions think he is, a professional babysitter with a warthog-style Pumbaacradle?! Time for those predators to start sending their cubs to Uncle Max, now _that_ would be a sight worth seeing.

"You okay, pal?" asked Pumbaa in a caring tone.  
Tojo opened his aching eyes for the first time since landing in the water, blinked and realized he was in the jungle.  
_Mom and Dad are gonna kill me!_  
"Uh, yeah, thanks for that. I would've died without your help."  
"Yes, well, it's all in a warthog's day job." said Pumbaa proudly and then added: "Though I'm pretty sure Timon would say he did it all. Like usual."  
Tojo just shrugged and started to leave, but the older animal stopped him.

"Wait! You can't just go out there all alone!"  
"Why not?" asked the cub curiously.  
Pumbaa rolled his eyes. Was the cub born in the world of hyenas or something?  
"It's all desert out there, that's why! Coming down in a waterfall, that's easy. Surviving three days in the blazing heat and burning sand, that's not!"  
"Oh..."

Pumbaa decided to introduce Tojo to Kopa and Vitani. Sure, Simba had told the duo to stay away from the young cubs' unless absolutely necessary, but surely they would not resent the introduction of another young cub?  
Now if only he could find them...

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow,**** Timon and Pumbaa are getting old, aren't they? I'm sorry if their characters went sort of OOC here, but I've always imagined Timon going all cynical in his old age and Pumbaa is just a lot more experienced these days.  
As always, review. *sigh* If anyone ever finds this damn story. *mutterings*  
**


	8. The Villain

"Say, what's your name, kid?" asked Pumbaa curiously. "I'm Tojo."  
The warthog's eyes widened: "There's a Tojo in Simba's pride too."  
Tojo grinned. "I know. I'm _from_ Simba's pride, that Tojo is my dad. You're Pumbaa, aren't you?"

"In the flesh."  
Tojo let his youth take over him, despite the situation he was in. "That is so awesome! Dad's told us so much about you and..." he looked around, but did not see the meerkat anywhere. "... Timon." he finished.

"Ah, don't worry, he'll join us eventually. He's just upset that we had to delay our trip to Pride Rock." Pumbaa showed Timon one of his legs, which was swollen up pretty badly. "I hurt myself whilst running."  
"You were going to visit the King?"

Pumbaa nodded. "Yes, we were going to tell him about a lion pride Kopa found."  
Suddenly Tojo remembered. The Prince and Princess had gone... to vacation... _in the jungle_!  
"They're here?! Prince Kopa and Princess Vitani, they're around here?!" he asked.  
"Well, I haven't seen them for a while, but they should be. Let's go find them."

* * *

Hearing a rattle behind them, Vitani let Kopa go immediately and scanned the perimeter with pure lioness training. Her eyes were sharp and did not blink, her nostrils catched every scent in the windless air, her claws were unsheathed.  
_We're surrounded._  
She saw glimpses of gray and black fur around the area, hiding. Everything was silent. The predators were waiting for the trap to spring.  
_Knowing a trap is the first step at evading it._  
She would've sprinted, but leaving Kopa behind wasn't an option.  
_Examine your area closely. Your area is your armory. _  
There was a dead tree nearby, but it was too small and getting the prince there was impossible. Nevertheless, she instinctly dragged Kopa closer to the tree. It made her feel better.  
_What are they waiting for? What is the trap?  
_"Hey, Vitani." said an annoying voice that made her fur bristle in absolute hate.  
Mwizi was standing five feet away.  
"Before you try to rip me apart, let me remind you that you're surrounded. Kopa would die before you could even get to me."

Vitani put her paw back to the ground, but didn't re-sheath the claws.  
"What do you want? What did you do to Kopa?"  
Mwizi gave her an innocent-looking smile. "I didn't want anything other than a place to live. I left the Hills and my family to find the jungle and when I came across the prince I knew what to do."

An old lioness with a peculiar reddish pelt lazily walked over to the two. She reminded Vitani vaguely of her own mother. It was the harsh look in the eyes and the obvious hatred she had for life.  
"My daughter was unique from the start. In the pride, every male her own age who came into contact with her even as a child became obsessive until the point of insanity. As she grew, she could control it." The lioness was obviously proud of her daughter, but Mwizi began to look irritated.

"Mother, you're straying from the plan." she reminded.  
"Yes, well, the reason we ensnared the prince is very simple. We want nothing more and nothing less than the Pridelands."  
Vitani was stubborn. "King Simba will never surrender his lands to you, outsiders!"

"You don't know _King_ Simba like I do, princess!"

Vitani was stopped dead in her tracks by that voice. It was a little, irritating voice belonging to a little, irritating animal.  
Riding on top of an old, magnificient lion, Timon grinned a little, irritating animal grin.

* * *

Three insignificant eggs were still lying all alone behind a bush. Three insignificant eggs cracked and opened. Three insignificant birds cried.  
One big, not-so-insignificant mother was pissed off.

* * *

**And thus comes the end of another chapter. Don't worry, the last paragraph is not there to just pad it out, the birds will return to the main plot eventually.  
As always, read 'n' review.**


	9. Messenger

Vitani couldn't believe it. "Timon? _You're_ in charge of the Hills Pride?"  
Timon let out a laugh. "Moi? In charge? No, no, no, ya got your meerkats mixed, I'm just an advisor. A voice in the head. Wormtongue.  
The lioness cub growled and moved closer to the old lion, but the other lionesses moved closer immediately.

Timon looked a bit scared. "Hey Mwizi! How about we just ditch the girl and stick with the plan?"  
Mwizi nodded. "Knock her out."

The cub tried to resist but with one paw strike, she was knocked out cold.  
"And take her back to the jungle so she can't find us easily."  
The lionesses went to follow her orders immediately.  
"Perhaps now's the time to send a message to Pride Rock. I'm sure Simba'll get mighty jazzed up." said Timon.  
"Uh-huh."

* * *

Tojo was getting upset now.  
"We're walking in circles." he complained to the fat old warthog who was supposedly a hero of the Scar-Simba conflict. How he and his meerkat had even survived was beyond the hungry and tired child. Pumbaa let out a chuckle.  
"The jungle's mighty big! You know, once upon a time, Timon and I got lost trying to find grubs and..."  
Tojo's attention slipped. He was absolutely exhausted to the point where he simply fell down on his side and was asleep.  
Pumbaa, noticing that his guest had gone to Wonderland, dragged him to a soft spot covered in leaves and placed one giant palm leaf over him as shade.

"Sleep tight." he rumbled and decided to go get some rest as well.

Before he could though, he heard a great roar that reverbated through the jungle. Tojo's eyes opened.  
"What was that?!" he asked fearfully.

"I'll go find out. You stay here and rest."  
Tojo nodded and blacked out again.

Pumbaa wasn't a complicated animal. He preferred a life of monotony(though not a boring one). A life of "safe danger". When things got out of hand, he panicked.

Roars that caused earthquakes were not part of that life. Following the source of that roar, he came to the border of the jungle and faced the chilly Outlands. At day, the desert was hot and burning. At night, it was freezing, though. Being a fearful and not-very-intelligent animal by nature, Pumbaa decided it were best to find Timon as quickly as possible.  
"Timon?!" he called out. "Timon!? Where are you?!"

Suddenly, he heard a cracking noise. Someone small was approaching. He looked behind his back, expecting Timon, but instead saw a lioness cub with a serious head injury.

* * *

Kopa's eyes opened by a fraction. He had minor headache. The cub stood up to find that he was on a sleek rock on top of a cliff. The Pride that surrounded him had certainly done their best to find the most comfortable spot for him. Something soft purred next to him.  
_Mwizi._  
Kopa calmed immediately. He was home.  
The prince(not that he remembered or cared) lay back down and licked her. Mwizi cuddled into him and the two fell back asleep.

On the other side of the rocky mountain, Timon was not nearly so comfortable. He was fine with being an advisor to the Hills Pride(it was certainly more productive than chasing Kiara all day), but he did not like the living conditions one bit. Timon was a meerkat of taste. He needed luxury. Unfortunately, the pride did not. Nor did they let him leave out of fear that he would give away their plans.

A messenger had already been sent to Pride Rock. The plan was coming together. _His_ plan, as Timon often reminded the pride.  
And yet the meerkat was still unhappy.

* * *

Pride Rock was in deep slumber. Simba and Nala rested on a higher platform above the lionesses(in the Royal Spot as the meerkat-warthog duo called it). Simba's rest was peaceful and deep, but Nala writhed and frowned constantly, having a bad dream.  
Unlike Simba, she'd had a bad feeling ever since leaving the cubs at the jungle. At first, it seemed like a wonderful idea. Now, the idea that her child, the heir to the throne was running around the jungle unchecked made her increasingly paranoid. Sure, Vitani and the duo where there, but the princess was also not an adult and Timon and Pumbaa weren't exactly the most intelligent people around.

She woke up from the dream, with her fur dank with sweat and decided to go get a drink from the waterfall.

As she walked out(careful not to disturb the tired huntresses), she sniffed the air and noticed a smell of someone she did not recognize. Nala bared her teeth and went to look, her trained eyes piercing through the night.

There was a lion here. A lion who was definitely not supposed to be here.  
Not making a single sound with her soft paws, Nala moved towards the target. She blocked out all other distractions and worries and let instinct take over entirely.

"Hello, Queen."

Nala jumped, shocked at the sound.  
"Who are you?!" she growled.

"I am Mjumbe of the Hills Pride." replied the voice. "I bring a message from our pride. We have your son and we wish to open hostage negotiations."  
Nala's heart missed a beat.  
"You will speak with the king." she said, controlling her despair.

Nala led Mjumbe towards Pride Rock and roared to wake her Pride.  
Simba jumped out of the den towards his wife and glared at the old and unnaturally thin lion that was with her.  
"Identify yourself." he said in a dark tone.

"Mjumbe from the Hills Pride." replied Mjumbe in a tired voice. "I bring a message."  
"They have Kopa." said Nala, her control beginning to break.

Simba let out an angry roar that shook the land around them. "Why did you take my son? What do you want?!"  
"We took your son to get your attention. We want the Pridelands."

* * *

**Did you know that lions are nocturnal creatures who sleep mainly during the day and hunt in the darkness of the night? I sure didn't. Disney should've done their research whilst making the LK movies. These are the movies that are meant to teach children, folks. **


	10. The Plan

Pumbaa gasped as he saw Vitani. The princess was stumbling as if she was high on something, obviously delirious.  
"Princess Vitani, whatever happened to you?!" he called out.  
Vitani mumbled something incoherent and started trotting randomly down the hill, but Pumbaa stopped her and picked her up with his snout, similar to that first day with Simba, so long ago...

The warthog ran straight to the nearest pond and cleaned the horrible scratch on her head.  
_How do I get her to Rafiki in this state?!_  
Pumbaa had been relying on Timon for so long, that he actually found it difficult to think logically. Then he knew. A bird! Surely there must be someone who can get a message to the Pridelands!

As such, he started running around and yelling, hoping for something to hear.

* * *

Simba paced back and forth in the den, trying to block out the worry he had for Kopa. He knew very well that if he were to hand the Pridelands over to the Hills Pride, they'd hunt the place to death just like the hyenas had and then, game over. But he just couldn't leave his son with them. Family over everything.

Nala agreed immediately. They both cared for Kopa far more than they cared about the kingdom.  
"Mjumbe." said Simba, with as much dignity as he could.  
"Go and tell your pride that I'm willing to hand over control of the Pridelands... to you."

Mjumbe gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."  
Simba raised an eyebrow.

"What?"  
"I just didn't expect someone who kidnaps children to have manners."  
Mjumbe chuckled. "We never kidnap anybody. Kopa went with us willingly. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he gets back."  
_Willingly? What could possibly make my son to go with these people willingly? _

* * *

Ned the Elephant had lived in the jungle for as long as anyone remembered. He had always been there and he always would be. Ned had lived for so long that he was attuned to the jungle's rhythm.

A screaming warthog pierced that rhythm with a sledgehammer.  
_What on earth is going on around here? I haven't heard so much noise in the jungle since Simba hunted here._

Ned trampled over towards the source of the noise and boomed out: "PUMBAAA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Pumbaa's eyes widened as he saw the gigantic elephant approaching.  
"Ned! Ned, you gotta help me, she's dying, Ned!"  
"WHO IS DYING?"

"This little young princess! I need someone to tell Simba! Could you get one of the birds to do it and also get someone to help me? Please, oh please oh please oh please!

"I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO."

Pumbaa didn't really believe all that "Circle of Life" mumbo-jumbo that the lions did, but at that moment, he thanked the stars and hoped the message would reach Simba quickly. And when he finally finds Timon, he'll be able to boast that he finally did something right!

* * *

As Mjumbe left, Simba roared in his outrage and called together the entire pride to discuss what to do. Kula immediately suggested attacking the Hills Pride the moment Kopa was returned to them.

Simba sighed. "Impossible. We have our image to uphold, Kula. I promised them these lands and a King cannot break his promise."  
"Well, if the land is theirs anyway, what's the point of discussion?" asked Dotty.

"To think our next step." replied Nala. "Where will we go? What will we do?"  
"Well, madame, it's not really my position to intervene, but..."

"Zazu, your advice is always valued."  
"Thank you, ma'am. What I wanted to say is, if the Hills Pride leaves the Hills, doesn't that leave us... the Hills?"

Simba grunted. "The Hills are lifeless. We'd lose more than half of our young. The jungle is another option. It's far and the journey is rough for a party our size, but we could make it. Perhaps."

Tama, the ever resourceful one, provided something different: "Simba, you said we had our image to uphold and we couldn't attack them. Why don't we let someone else do the dirty work? No one would connect the attack of... shall we say hyenas to our pride."  
"I will never deal with hyenas."  
"It was only an example. We could ask an elephant, or birds, or leopards or monkeys. Half the animals in the kingdom are likely to help us, especially once they know how brutal the Hills Pride can be."

Suddenly, a bird landed and started chatting quickly with Zazu. The hornbill's eyes seemed to bulge out of shock for a second and then he turned to the king.  
"Sire, Pumbaa sent out a distress call! Princess Vitani has been gravely injured and Tojo is lost in the jungle as well. He requires immediate help."

Simba looked at the messenger bird. "Tell Pumbaa that help is on its way and will arrive tomorrow night."  
The bird flew away. The king glanced at Zira.  
"I know what to do." said the lioness simply and flew away like dust in the wind.

"Go ask around the animals." ordered Simba to the pride. "Find the reliable and the strong and tell them to drive this pride out two days after they arrive. The Hills Pride will be gone forever, the Pridelands will enlarge to fit the Hills, the desert and the jungle and we will all thrive."

Simba's pride roared in union.


	11. Different Destinations

Tojo opened his eyes, fully recovered from his stint with the waterfall the previous day. It was very early dawn so almost nothing was visible.  
_Where's Pumbaa?_ wondered the young cub. The warthog had told him to wait til he returned, but that was obviously over 10 hours ago. He shook himself, trying to free his body from all the wet that the jungle's humidity had forced upon it, but it was useless. Tojo's fur was patted to his body. It was summer, after all.

The brave cub decided to look around for a bit, just to be safe. He heard noises all around him, bats and birds and bugs and other annoying creatures. Fortunately for him, it wasn't long til he smelled the unmistakable scent of a warthog nearby at the lake. He hopped down there to find not only Pumbaa snoring softly, but also the Princess.

_They couldn't have come to even tell me?_ thought Tojo, upset. _Maybe I should wake this fat pig up and teach him some_ _manners._  
Instinctively, Tojo's claws emerged from his paws, ready to strike against prey, but he controlled himself and chose instead to rest next to them, eagerly awaiting the answers they'd give in the morning.

* * *

Like a machine, Zira ran through the cold desert, her paws barely touching the sand, her four legs moving back and forth with a speed that would have dazzled even her own kin. Not once did she slow. Even her blinking was rhythmic. Everything about this lioness was methodical, effective and brutal.

Especially when her own flesh and blood was in danger. Vitani was her ultimate achievement in life. She wasn't a haughty princess who made others do her work, oh no, she had been taught that she was worth only as much as she was capable of. Of course, life at Pride Rock had softened her somewhat, but Zira wasn't concerned. The mother's training was burned into her brain and would stay there._  
_  
Zira was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw numerous black figures slowly moving forward. With the greatest precision, she froze, her claws ready, her eyes scouring the area, her ears trying to pick up any noise and her thoughts cursing her previous thoughts.

The lioness's suspicions were soon proven by the whispers in the air and the smell that the wind brought to her. The Hills Pride had no training - they didn't know how much Mother Earth could give away. Zira laid down onto the sand and digged her paws through it. Her eyes became two slits, letting only the smallest light through. Her fur blended with the dunes perfectly. In all essence, she was invisible.

The Hills Pride had not detected her and they were coming closer. Zira laid waiting, ready to listen in on their conversation. The noise soon reached her.

"Brilliant, Kopa, brilliant. You did a wonderful job." said a female. A child, by the sound of her voice.  
"Thank you." purred Kopa in response. "Anything for you, sweetheart. What's next?"  
"You will return to the Pridelands, tell your daddy that you're with us now and it's goodbye for them."  
Kopa let out a hyena laugh at that. "We will rule the Pridelands, won't we?"

"And the desert and the jungle. And soon enough, we will conquer more. And we will rule the whole of Africa. Just you and me."

The voices became inaudible, but Zira knew enough.  
She had to get to Vitani as soon as possible to prevent this new threat. Whoever that little girl-cub was, she was dangerous and deceptive. Hell, she could probably charm even Simba into fulfilling her wishes... which was actually likely.

Zira added extra boost into her feet from her reserves and pushed on.

* * *

Timon's sleep was rudely interrupted by the so-called "royal couple" of the Hills Pride who both spoke so loudly that the meerkat was beginning to miss Pumbaa's nonsensical bellowing.  
_This was a stupid plan from the start... now I'm stuck on the bloody wrong side. Sure, Simba's dumb and Pumbaa's brainless, but now here I am, taking orders from_ cubs_! I've gone from square one to square zero!  
No... I'm a genius... therefore I can find a solution. Simba's pride trusts me, so I could easily go to them and say I was a double agent from the start._ _But I can't just run out without any profit. I started this and I will get power out of this even if I have to chase it around the Horn and around the Norway maelstrom and through perdition's flames..._

_Yes! That is it! I AM a genius! _  
Timon dropped off of Mjumbe's back and trotted over to Mwizi.  
"Hey, Mwizi! Sorry to interrupt your little nuzzlefest here, but uh... I need to go to the meerkat colony."  
"The meerkat colony? Why?"  
"To get some brain cells, look, I just have to. It's just around the corner, I'll catch up with you."

Mwizi analysed Timon and knew that instant that the meerkat was deceitful. "I'll give you a guard, just in case."  
Timon nonchalantly accepted Mjumbe's company and told him where to go.

"When the time is right, precious, we will feast upon him, yes?" asked Kopa, lowering his eyes whenever his face was in Mwizi's direction.  
"Yes, Kopa, we will feast and feast until that scrawny little thing is fluid in our stomachs."

* * *

**This story just keeps growing. It's like wildfire, honestly. And I love it! From this point on, the story will take a notably darker turn as you can see already and it seems that most, if not all LK characters will be involved in the big climax.  
And to think that I started out writing regular KopaxVitani romance... :D**


	12. Silence Before The Storm

Zazu flew towards Pride Rock, tired after spending the whole night waking up irritated Pridelanders and asking for help. Bad timing, fear and hatred towards lions provided them with only a quarter of the animals.

Had he been younger, the hornbill might've panicked and lost all senses, but Simba had taught him well. Whatever happened, happened.  
"Sire!" he called towards Simba who was moping on top of Pride Rock. "How did it go?" the king asked in a grim tone.

"Well, per my calculations we now have an extra 7 monkeys, 85 birds, 4 giraffe, 23 zebra, 10 hippos, 104 snakes and 18 hyena volunteers."  
"Hyenas?" wondered Simba thoughtfully.  
"Yes, Sire. Apparently they recall the variance between Mufasa and Scar and believe you are their best chance of survival."

Simba let out a humorless laugh and rose up.  
"Sire, if I may be so bold... what exactly is our plan?"  
"Simple. A week after the Hills Pride moves in, the animals strike. Monkeys and birds throw, giraffe and zebra stamp, hippos jump, snakes bite and hyenas eat. There will be hardly anything left by the time we return."

Zazu had a worried look on his face. "But, your majesty... if the animals realize they can take down one pride... don't you think...?"  
"That they will attack us as well? Yes. That's what concerns me."  
Suddenly, a voice interrupted them. "Perhaps Tama's plan wasn't so great after all."  
Zazu bowed in front of the Queen. Nala moved over to Simba and laid down next to him.

"It's too late now." replied Simba. "They're all ready. Once they take down the Hills Pride, they will easily overrun us. How could I have been so stupid?"

* * *

After all those years, Timon had never thought he'd be inside tunnels again. But here he was, causing mayhem as if he was an adolescent again, looking for the grand-old Uncle Max.  
"UNCLE MAX! Have you seen Uncle Max? Excuse me, do you know where Uncle Max is?" he asked and yelled until an old, creaking voice yelled back.  
"Ti-mon! Can't you even let me die in peace?!"

The ancient meerkat was now using a walking twig. His body looked like a corpse already, but his glowing eyes indicated otherwise. Timon placed an arm over his uncle's shoulders, intentionally discomforting the old creature. He led Uncle Max away from the ears of the other meerkats for a little private chat.

"Hey, Uncle Max, look, I know you're all retired n' all, but I need some help. Remember the day when I saved the colony? I'm cashing in on that."  
Uncle Max grunted. "Yes, I can see that very well. Let me guess, the Pridelands are having a grub contest?"

"NO! The Pridelands are going into civil war and I caused it!"

Uncle Max blinked. He then gently took Timon's hand. "My dear, dear Timon... ARE YOU FREAKIN' NUTS?! FIRST YOU DESTROY EVERY SINGLE TUNNEL IN THIS EARTH, THEN YOU GET ME IN THE WAY OF HYENAS **TWICE **AND NOW IT'S A FREE-FOR-ALL?! WITHOUT THE PRIDE, OUR COLONY IS DUST! DUUUUST I TELL YOU!" he yelled in one breath and was overcome by lethargia, collapsing right there.

The blissful silence was soon interrupted by another scream: "TIMMY!"  
"Oi!" Timon facepalmed. He then pretended to be happy.

"Hi, Ma...!" he managed to say before being hugged.  
"Ma! Choking, not breathing!"

"I've missed you so much!" cried Ma. "You're all grown-up now!"  
Suddenly, Timon got an idea. "Ma, would you mind talking to the colony? I need your help. There are some... changes gonna happen."  
"Changes? Whatever do you mean?"

Timon decided to go smoothly, not revealing too much.  
"I'm manipulating a lion pride led by an insane cub with supernatural abilities who has brainwashed Kopa to take over Pride Rock so I could finally have some power and Uncle Max does not approve and I need the help of the colony to trap Simba's group when the time comes. Got that?"

Ma thought for a second. "Wait, who are the good guys and bad guys again?"  
Timon sighed. "I'm the good guy, everyone else are bad guys."  
"Hm, got it."

Not entirely satisfied, Timon exited the dirty caves, but not before stealing Uncle Max's glorious twig.

* * *

Pumbaa rose up, clearing his eyes of the previous night's sleep. Before he could even say anything, Tojo was awake and ready.  
"Whathappenedwhathappenedwhathappened?!" he demanded quickly.

The aging warthog tried to keep up with the cub. "Well, Princess Vitani showed up and she was all messed up so I send a message to Simba for help. Sorry I forgot you."

"Apology accepted." said Tojo and nudged Vitani. "Rise and shine, princess."  
Vitani let out a little sneeze and tried to rise up but her head hurt. "Where am I?" she asked from Pumbaa. It was hard to focus on the pig as her vision was jittery for some reason. She became nauseated and closed her eyes.

"You're safe in the jungle with me and Tojo here."  
"Tojo?"  
The cub trotted forward. "Yeah, it's me. Don't ask how I ended up here, you don't want to know."  
"Can't be worser than my story."

"Yeah, what did happen to you?" asked Pumbaa curiously.  
"Well, remember that girl Mwizi who showed up? She took Kopa to the Outlands so I followed them there and got attacked by some rogue pride. She's doing something to Kopa, some kind of brainwashing. She's leading them."  
Tojo was confused. "A cub leading a pride? What kind of sense does that make?"

"More than you can imagine."  
Pumbaa interfered. "Did you see Timon anywhere?"  
"Oh yeah, I forgot about him. He's with them, as their Zazu. This whole thing was his idea. His master plan."

The warthog fell down as if hit by a physical blow.  
"I'm sorry." said Vitani.  
Pumbaa quickly got up again. "No need. I should've known it was coming. He's been acting weird for months now. But what do we do?"  
"We have to return to the Pridelands as soon as possible."  
"Can't we just send them a message?" asked Tojo.  
"By the time the message arrived, it would no longer matter. The Hills Pride are on the move. They're heading for Pride Rock right now. And in two days, they'll definitely be there."

"You were unconscious for a day." noted Pumbaa.  
"Then by sundown, our home is gone."


	13. Takeover

Zazu's old panic started to return and he grew jittery.  
"Sire, they are now 5 kilometers from Pride Rock."  
Simba turned to the Pride. "We will spend the week in the Outlands. Take as much food with you as you can. It will not be a pleasant time."

Nala nuzzled him and whispered: "You didn't tell them that the animals will wipe us out as soon as we go back home."  
"We'll have a whole week to come up with a new plan. I don't think they need to know just yet."

An hour later, the Hills Pride with Kopa and Mwizi on top of two lionesses finally arrived. Had Kopa been his usual self, his father's gaze would likely have burned him to ash. Instead...  
"Hi, dad! Have you met my girl? She's great!"

Simba's jaw dropped and he was left utterly confused. "Your girl? Kopa, she's from the Hills Pride! What have you been doing all this time?! Your mother and I have been worried sick."

Kopa frowned, as if trying to recall who this mother is. "Why? I mean, I'm fine. Didn't you send me to a vacation?"

Simba lost his patience and roared out. "WE'RE BEING INVADED!"  
The prince grinned idiotically and clapped. "Yaaaay!"

"What have you done to him?!" screamed Nala towards Mjumbe.  
The old lion was surprised to be the accused one. "Me? I haven't done anything. It's little Mwizi who's pulling all the strings here."  
Mwizi's mother formally walked forwards. "The Pridelands now belong to us. Vacate this area immediately."

Nala snarled at her opponent. "We're not going anywhere until you turn our son back to normal."

The crafty little lioness cub jumped off her mother's back and spoke in a melodic voice. "I'm afraid that's impossible. Kopa loves me and not even I can reverse that. Now go."

Driven to utter fury by grief, Nala lunged at the cub but was struck by a stronger force that pinned her to the ground.  
"S-simba?" she asked in shock.

Simba's eyes were clouded. "We made a promise. We will keep it. We will go to the Pridelands as Mwizi ordered."  
"But Simba-!" started Nala.  
"No buts. Kopa can stay."

* * *

Timon observed from his guard's back as Simba's pride left for the Outlands, heads down, not even noticing him.

_Hah! Told you I'd be with you to the end, Simba. But it's not my fault you don't get to see what happens after happily ever_ _after._

Drowning in his victory, Timon leaped off the guard's back and pranced into Pride Rock as if he was its ruler.  
"Look who's there." giggled Mwizi to Kopa.  
"Oh, it's the butler! Over here, Timon!"

Timon let out an inner groan and walked over to the cubs. "How can I help you, Sire?"  
Suddenly, Kopa pounced on him and let out a joyful song whilst tossing the meerkat around:

"It's a trick, convincing people to like you.  
If I stop now call me a quitter,  
if lies were cats you'd be a litter,  
pleasing everyone isn't like you.  
Dancing jigs until I'm crippled,  
slug ten drinks I won't get pickled.

"I can't decide whether you should live or die,  
oh you'll probably go to heaven, please don't  
hang your head and cry. No wonder why  
my heart is dead inside, it's cold and hard  
and petrified. Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
we're going for a ride!"

With that said, the prince bit into his butler and threw him to Mwizi with his teeth.  
Mwizi went on:

"Oh I could throw you in a lake or feed you poisoned birthday cake,  
I can't deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone.  
Or I could bury you alive but you might crawl out with a knife  
and kill me when I'm sleeping, that's why..."  
  
The two cornered Timon (who by now was scared out of his guts) at the exact same spot where the hyenas had. Only this time,  
doing the hula wasn't gonna get him out of this.

Both sang in unison.

"We can't decide whether you should live or die,  
oh you'll probably go to heaven, please don't  
hang your head and cry. No wonder why  
our hearts are dead inside, they're cold and hard  
and petrified. Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
we're going for a ride!"

One second before Mwizi would've gobbled the meerkat up, Kopa pushed her away with his paw.  
"Kopa? What are you doing?" asked the lioness.

Kopa grinned. "I'm just thinking... maybe we should let him have a night of terror first? You know... all the sufferings he's caused?"  
The other cub didn't seem so convinced, yet let Kopa have his way.  
The prince locked the butler inside a similar skeleton where Zazu had once been imprisoned by Scar.

"You shouldn't have betrayed my father, Timon." he said harshly.  
The bruised and battered meerkat glared up with the only open eye. "Since when do you care?"

* * *

In the jungle, Zira fell down to the ugly, sticky grass, utterly exhausted. Even she had her limits. And to her own brief surprise, she fell asleep.


End file.
